British Railways Red Baron
by Scrax
Summary: New Cast new everything it has nothing to do with the island of sodor. A completely new look on talkin trains
1. Chapter 1

New series I'll be doing inspired by my childhood favorite, Thomas the tank engine and friends. Only based on however, none of the characters are carried over and only the basic fact that trains can talk to each other and their drivers and there line owner. These are not the talking trains you remember people just keep that in mind. There are a lot of fictional places that don't exist, such as the ocean bridge, which I made up, a bridge connecting England to France.

**British Railways Red Baron**

**Chapter One**

**Odd Red Out**

That morning Baron's driver lit his fire as quietly as possible and his boiler warmed. He slowly inch by inch crept out of his cell in the engine shed hoping the other three engines wouldn't here him. Unfortunately Butch had already made steam and as if waiting for Baron to leave was waiting just outside his own cell.

"Ugh disgraceful, here comes the trash of the line everyone!" He exclaimed to wake up the other two still in the shed.

Before they get a chance to wake up enough to make fun of him, Baron lets of steam towards butch and chuffs away.

His driver speaks up to him. "Don't worry, they only say that because they wish they were half as talented as you are, you can do things they will never be able to."

"I know it just gets annoying after all these years with all those accidents, it's not my fault…"

"You're right, it's not, but we need you so it doesn't matter what they think at all. You're the only one in the shed that can pull the freight for this line. Even so we do need another train to help you, these trains are getting to long for you alone in your condition."

Baron is a 4-6-0 Mixed Traffic Engine, what is left of his paint is red with golden yellow detail. Butch is a 2-10-0 Express Engine.

"Comon old boy lets go get your train." As his driver takes baron to his long line of freight which Baron carries from the mainland across the ocean bridge and all the way to the western edge of Germany every other day of the week. Baron has been in many accidents in his time, the biggest of them all in the center of the ocean bridge when it collapsed beneath him. His entire cab has been taken off due to damage in a different crash involving his brakes failing at the top of the hill on his line.

In the ocean bridge accident, his faceplate slammed into the rubble concrete created from the collapsing, and cracked in half and fell off straight into the ocean. Also his front 4 wheels were torn off. Even though that was all over 10 years ago he still manages to pull his train because he has no internal damage, he cannot be fixed because the controller can't afford his parts.

That night after Baron pulls his trains he arrives back at the shed to rest for the next days train. He tried to pull in quietly from behind the shed into his cell since the cells have front and backdoors, but once again he had no such luxury. The controller had called all the engines out of their sleep and they all had their doors open out into the faint moonlit night where the controller stood. And he wasn't alone.

"This!" he boomed "is Joan,(pronounced Jown not jo-an) she is a new addition to our railway, an import from America.

Baron, staying inside his shed once he is in examines the young tank engine. She is 0-4-0 tank engine with black paint and gold detailing.

"She" he continues "will be helping baron by taking local freight trains to try and lighten his load on the long runs."

"Uhm…hi" Baron is shocked at how nervous and shy she sounds.

Butch decides to get right to the insults after hearing the word "Freight". "Sir we already have one disgrace to our passengers why do we need another?" He sulks sarcastically.

"And what might that disgrace be Butch? If anything it's your attitude."

"No sir it is Baron, he is hideously broken and old and pulls those disgusting freight trains."

Joan looks into the rightmost cell in the sheds the moonlight shines on his lower half and it's easy for her to tell he is missing quite a few parts and she begins to feel sad for him.

"Butch shut your mouth, this railway wouldn't function without Baron and neither would any of you if he didn't get your coal on all these trips he takes. Now there is a danger here for Joan, she is very small as you can see so she weighs no where near as much as you all do, there is a high powered wind storm coming tonight and she may be swept right off the rails if she is not kept in doors. One of you will have to give up your spot in the shed tonight for her."

"Don't be rediculas!" he booms "No one would even think about doing th-

"She can have my spot." Baron cuts him off. "It's her first day, wouldn't want to see her get hurt," As he starts to back out of his cell.

"Thank you Baron." Says the controller. "You may go and sleep wherever you feel you'll be most comfortable.

Joan speaks up to him "Thank you…Baron." She says and seems to smile timidly.

"Not a problem." As he chuffs out of the shed and to the yard where the coal trucks sleep, he always felt that they had no problem with him, with all his wrecks none of them were the trucks fault, they had always gotten along and respected Baron. When he gets there one wakes up.

"Baron? What are you doing here?"

"We needed a space in the shed for a smaller engine, do you mind if I sleep here tonight?"

"Not at all!" The truck says with confidence and pride. "That empty siding over there is all yours."

"Thanks." As he chuffs away to the directed siding. However once he gets there he hears two engines chuffing around, He looks over to his right in the yard and sees two more tank engines, one American and one British. He chuffs over them quietly to not wake up the cars. Once there he strikes up a conversation.

"Hello, I've never seen you two before?"

The first, the American speaks up first "Hello, you're Baron right? Haha, we shunt all the trains every night and sleep during the day, we make your long train every other morning!"

"And might I say it's no easy task big shot." Laughs the other.

"My name is Smokey." Says the American 0-4-0 tank.

"Bradley." Says the other 0-6-0 tank.

"Well in that case thank you very much, I'd really hate to do that myself Ahaha, well do you two mind if I sleep in that siding?"

"Not at all, got no plans for it this evening." says Smokey.

"Thank you." As he starts to chuff away. "Oh! And be careful there's a storm coming tonight!"

"Okay you're welcome, and we will!" says Bradley

Back at the sheds Joan has slowly been able to tune out the other engines making fun of her through the wall off Barons cell, and looks around the room. His parts of his smashed cab lay in one corner while his 4 rusted and cracked front wheels lye in another. On his walls however are several framed pictures and trophies and medals. The picture frame that is most prominent is one that has a newspaper inside and the headline reads "The Wreck of The Red Baron."

End of chapter one

Finally updated and am continuing the series. Seriously please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Wreck of the Red Baron

Joan looks around the cell, inspecting all of the framed newspapers, which Baron's driver hung up over the years. Her eyes settle sadly on one in particular, where the picture depicts Baron, lying in pieces on the beach, where he was towed after falling off the Land Bridge 15 years ago.

"No wonder they make fun of him…" she thinks to herself, and she looks around the room further, and sees a set of front steer wheels and a cracked and roofless remains of a cab.

"How does he live in here…it's so depressing" she says to her driver who is lying in the small bed where Baron's driver would normally sleep.

"I'm not sure, you'll have to ask him. He seems like a strong guy." He says softly, half asleep.

"Ya" she whispers.

The next Morning, Rampent, Butch, and Kayri sit by and watch as Joan couples up to her first freight train. She tries to pull it but her wheels just start spinning. The others begin laughing at her. She closes her eyes tight and pulls with everything she has

"That train is down right puny and she can't even budge it!" Kayri shouts and laughs even harder, but then, all at once, the three large engines laughing ceases. Joan feels something being coupled to her front, and she opens her eyes, and sees a large red tender attached to her. She begins to move forward, being pulled by the other engine.

"Ba…Baron?" as he pulls her out of the yard and up to the turntable, uncouples from her and goes onto it.

"uhmm, thank you, you save me again." She looks down and her cheeks go slightly pink.

"Don't mention it," as the turntable begins to rotate, "you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

The turntable turns more, and she can see past his tender, his driver exposed for lack of a cab. Then she looks lower and the turning continues and spots the vacant space in front of his 6 drive wheels. As his front comes into view her eyes widen in disbelief, at her slight terror.

"You…your face…" she whispers shakily, as she stares into the black hole where his face should be.

"Ya, I lost my face."

"The wreck?"

"The wreck of the Red Baron…hah…The Red Baron…not anymore." He says quietly. "Well, would you like some help with that?"

"Sure but, don't you have to take yours?"

"Don't have one today, I take it Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday." As the turntable finishes turning all the way back around.

He couples up to her and pulls her out of the yard and instead of taking the track she was told, baron pulls her out onto his track on the main line. "uhhhmmm, I'm not supposed to be here." She says.

"This is faster, it's my track, no one else uses it, so your welcome to, I'll tell the controller."

"Thank you." She blushes brightly. "You're so nice, why isn't everyone else?"

"They are just pompous and arrogant, they think they rule the world."

"But you're the Red Baron, I read all those papers and articles, you're a hero."

"Haha… thanks, I needed that."

"You're welcome."

"So anyway, when you're taking this line just switch off and get back onto the branch lines when you are close to your destination." He thunders over the points towards Joan's first drop off. They make it to the station and Baron uncouples from her. "Since you'll be dropping a few cars you can probably pull the train alone from here on out, right?"

"Yes, thank you very much." She smiles brightly up at him.

"No, thank you," and he starts to pull away.

"Hey." He stops.

"What about your shed…I can't stay out at night here, but I don't want to be near the other engines, plus I don't want to steal your spot."

Baron is surprised, he can't believe this young girl has taken such an interest it him. "Well, we can share my cell? It'll be a bit of a tight fit but we can do it?"

"If you're sure, then yes please."

"Ok then, I'll see you tonight," and he continues away.

That night Joan is in the shed early because the wind had picked up, and Baron backs into the shed ahead of her, and the two come buffer to buffer just to fit into the cell.

"Hey." He says to her as his driver steps down and gets ready to sleep, and Joan's driver has made up a small attempt at a bed nearby.

"Hi, thanks again for letting us stay here."

"No problem." His driver says.

"Sorry about the mess." Baron says.

"Don't worry about it." Joan says looking around the room. "I think I now see why you keep all of it."

"And why is that?"

"To remind you that you don't need all of it, to be really useful." She smiles.

"Hah…goodnight Joan."

She is surprised that he has ended the conversation. "Goodnight…"

End of chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

**Baron and Kayri**

Joan awoke the next morning to a commotion outside the shed, and noticed immediately that Baron was no longer present. Shortly however, the shed doors were pulled open before her and her driver lit her fire, and she moved forward out of the shed. "Whats going on?" she asked aloud.

Baron, in front of her on the track answered first, "Kayri broke down late last night and i have to take her to the works. No one is willing to take my train in my place."

"I'll do it?" Joan answered.

"Joan this train supplies half of Great Britain and goes all the way to the border of Germany, trust me it's too heavy."

"I can try!" she half yelled to him, she was just trying to help.

"Hmmm, maybe…I have an idea."

The controller spoke up to him, "Lets have it then."

"Joan could pull the train with a bit of help."

"Baron we have no more engines to help her."

"Bradley and Smokey could do it?"

The controller went silent for a moment, thinking it over.

"Who are they?" Butch interrupted loudly.

"The tank engines who make our trains every night for us to pull in the morning." Baron barked back at him.

"Ya know, that isn't a bad idea Baron. Joan, go to the yard quickly and find their shed and bring them here please, I am willing to bet that the three of you together could pull the train."

"Thank you sir! We won't let you down I promise!" Joan was absolutely ecstatic. She backed through Baron's cell and behind the shed into the yards, some of the freight cars recognized her from her few small runs she had done. They only stared as they hadn't made up their minds about her yet. They didn't want to upset Baron, much less their caretakers, Bradley and Smokey.

She found the shed and explained the plan to the two small, sleepy engines.

"Pull Baron's train? Will we really be enough?" Smokey asked.

"I've never tried moving any more than ten trucks a time before, his train is around fifty trucks long give or take." Bradley added.

"We can at least try, common guys he really needs our help." She sighed, "Besides, haven't you ever wanted to leave the yard and see the world?"

She had no idea how long the two engines had been here, but she could easily tell that Smokey had been in service longer. Whatever color his paint used to be was long gone, he was an almost solid gray, and half of his axel rods were gone, he didn't have umber painted on him anymore.

"Well, what do you boys think?" their driver's asked them.

"I suppose we can give it a shot." Bradley said finally.

"Joan you're up front we will push." Smokey said cheerfully.

"Thank you guys." She smiled brightly.

Back at the shed, Kayri has been lifted onto a flatbed and Baron has pulled her out to their station. Shortly after as he is preparing to leave, he hears the whistles of the three tank engines as they fall into their positions. "Alright, so it's pretty straight forward, Stop at every station on the way and have the boys uncouple the things that the station master asks for, hitch back up and keep going. NEVER leave my track, you ALWAYS have the right of way, don't stop or slow down unless someone needs water or you won't make it back before midnight. Once at the final station, leave the remaining cars in the siding and come home."

"Okay, I will I promise."

"Good luck, and please be safe." He says before starting out and leaving the station in a cloud of steam, pulling Kayri's flatbed behind him. Once out of ear shot Kayri speaks up, "You really think that pathetic girl can pull that train? You're crazy."

"Shut up Kayri I'm not in the mood for your crap right now, besides, she has plenty of help."

"Who?" she says surprised, when they were hooking up, no one had seen the two tank engines pull in behind the train since it was so long.

"I said shut up, what part of 'Never speak to me again' did you not understand?" he shouted back to her.

"Okay…sorry…" she fell silent and started dwelling on their past. She remained silent for the rest of the day as baron waited outside the works for her. It was a simple fix, and by dusk she was all done. He left with her and they returned to the shed.

At the other end of the line, Joan, Smokey and Bradley had finally pulled into the last station, turned around, and were watering up for the return journey.

"That was actually kinda fun." Smokey said in a surprised way.

"Sure is nice to get out once in a while." Bradley said, equally taken back.

"I told you so," Joan laughed at the boys.

"So how long have you been in the shed?" Smokey asked her.

"This is my first week here; I just got off the boat four days ago."

"I have been here for twelve years; you should have seen the shed back then."

"What was it like?"

"Well for one thing, I used to have a space in it." He chuckled. "Me, Baron, Butch, Kayri, and Felix…" he fell silent after the final name, not wishing to bring up bad memories. "More importantly, Baron was in his prime."

"Well what happened?" As their drivers had them set off for home, all on the same line together.

"First…a storm hit the shed and my cell was destroyed, it was beside the one Baron uses, Then Baron's first accident came, then Felix…wrecked…and Rampant came in as a replacement since he was beyond repair. A lot of things happened, just leave it at that." He quieted down, and Joan made sure to not ask any questions for the rest of the journey home.

Once home, Joan left the boys in the yard and joined Baron in his cell in the shed.

"So how'd it go?" he asked sleepily.

"It was pretty good, the boys enjoyed it too…how was your day with Kayri?"

"Can we just…not? Please? I hate her more than anything."

"But why?" she just wanted a simple straight answer from someone, but no one around here could explain anything.

"Another time…we could use some rest."

"…okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight Joan."

End of chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

**Memory Lane**

The next morning, Baron spends his time off telling Joan about the times before his first accident. "I was the first engine in this shed, at first it was just me and Butch. He wasn't quite the bad guy back then, but he wasn't someone you wanted to be around. He pulled the passengers and I pulled the freight, we made our own trains and didn't complain. Soon enough Smokey came to the shed as our shunter, followed by Kayri and then Felix. Butch however was always having issues, his model was brand new at the time and he was malfunctioning all the time. His breakdowns would get us into trouble and I would get us out. I was a bit older model then he was but to say I was more reliable was a massive understatement. I ended up pulling his train more than he would, and Felix would help me with my trains. I saved the passengers from being stranded so many times, they practically wished from Butch to be scrapped. I attracted tourists and photographers from around the world; they all came just to see me. They began calling me the Red Baron after my paint and name, and that's where Kayri came in. She fell in love with my fame, loved the spotlight, and thought she loved me. Not long after though, I had my first accident, a tunnel collapsed a bit and the stone landed on my cab, cracking it and tearing off the roof. By this point the Butch's problems had been worked out and he was running consistently, so he was given back the passenger trains. The railway was losing money fast, especially since the Ocean bridge was under construction. They had to repair the tunnel and had no money left to fix me. Soon afterward, Felix had his accident. His brakes gave out on a hill and at the bottom there was a sharp turn, outlined with a high stone wall. He hopped the tracks and went in face first, totaled, scrap…By this time the number of passengers had sharply decreased, and no one ever came to see me. Kayri got sick of it and she started taking Butch's side in the arguments, before I knew it we couldn't look at each other without yelling. Two years later the ocean bridge was finished, and only a month afterward it fell apart beneath me. Something hadn't been built properly and I paid the price. The cement and stone fell out beneath me as I was heading across. The tracks alone couldn't support my weight and I fell through, ramming head on into the next support beam. My face plate smashed off and when I hit the pile of rubble above the water at the bottom, my front four wheels were damaged beyond repair. The bridge isn't terribly tall so the fall didn't cause much in the way of internal damage, but once again, the railway had no money to fix me, since they now had to repair the bridge. Not long after that a storm hit the shed and collapsed Smokey's cell on top of him, I gotta say you American tanks are built pretty well, there wasn't a scratch on him. He moved to the smaller shed in the yard, and was soon joined by his new partner, Bradley. Then Rampant came and took Felix's place in the shed, and that's that."

Joan made sure to not interrupt the whole time, but by the end she was ready to break down and cry. "That's aweful…I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"How can't I? Nobody deserves that."

"Joan, I'm okay, really. You don't have to worry about me."

"But I do…I..." she could feel her face getting hot.

"Joan please…I promise I'll be okay."

"huhhhhh…okay."

The next day as Joan made it back to the yards, she could hear Rampant talking to someone, he sounded pleased to say the least.

"Ya, they said that Baron never made his last signal box, and there is only one other train that runs that route, it'll be a while before anyone finds him."

"Ugh finally he'll be outa here for a while." She heard Butch say, shocked. She then asks her driver to bring her to the station to find the controller as fast as possible.

Once there, she finds him on the platform talking to some people. Once he sees her worried expression he pushes past them and up to her. "Whats wrong Joan?"

"Sir, is it true what Rampant says? Is Baron missing?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Please sir…let me go look for him!" she shouts uncontrollably.

"Joan it takes him all day just to get out there and the sun is nearly down, theres no way you'll make it."

"I can try! Why is it that no one around here thinks I can do anything?! Only Baron thinks I'm useful…and no he's missing."

The controller sighed heavily before he finally looked back at her, "Alright…BE CAREFUL." He boomed before turning away from her and back to the group of other people.

"Thank you!" she headed to the yard and water and coaled up, hit the turntable, and set off down Baron's line.

"I'm coming Baron…the others may not care but I do…you're a hero to me."

Baron's track runs uninterrupted from their station to the border of Germany, however, for the last One hundred miles of France there are no active signal boxes. There are only two lines that run in the one hundred mile gap, they only have a few sidings with manual switches, which the drivers must stop to activate. Unfortunately, Baron hadn't broken down close enough to any of them to stay in. Not that it mattered much, only he traveled this track, and only one engine ran along track beside it. The track beside his ran from the northern section of France, down into the one hundred mile gap, and into Germany and he imagined far beyond it as well. He had only ever seen the other train once before, but once was enough; one did not simply forget an engine this big. Due to their slightly different time schedules, the two of them were never on the hundred miles stretch at the same time. She was nearly twice his size in length, a large, 4-12-2 Russian freight engine, easily the biggest engine he had ever seen, and probably ever would see. She had been having an issue with one of her valves on day, around ten years ago, and had stopped to find the problem. That was the only time he saw her, because she was late.

"I guess it's the other way around this time huh?" he thoughts out loud to himself. His driver and fireman had long since gone to sleep in the brake van. He had been running well, but halfway through the gap he felt something break inside him and his brakes jammed on. He grinded to a halt and his fire almost immediately went out. He figured his boiler must've cracked somewhere and the water put it out.

He heard a whistle in the distance and figured it would be the giant engine on her journey home. Hopefully she would slow down to give them a hand, but who knows.

End of chapter Four.

Well there is chapter four done. I suppose I should get more involved with telling you all what is going on huh? Okay so basically these chapters will be in groups of 10. I'll consider 10 chapters to be a book, and I am in the process of rewriting chapter 5. I had an old notebook with most of the chapters in it, but sometimes I would just write them in whatever I had on hand. Therefore I have lost a few of the chapters along the way so I'm rewriting them. Other than the ones I have lost I am simply typing up word for word what the old chapters said.

In all seriouslyness please review guys you have no idea how much it helps to know that you enjoy the story.

Thanks ^^


	5. Intermission

Intermission

Okay guys I hadn't planned to do an intermission until after chapter 5 was out but you leave me no choice because there's some things you just gotta know. I've noticed that travel to my stories has increased a lot and I have been receiving about 20 views a day on "British Railways Red Baron." This is great news but brings about something pretty annoying.

No one has reviewed anything.

Like I have told you all, reviews on the stories are great motivators for me to write, because it shows that you guys really want me to continue the series. If you like it just say so, all I need is an "Hey this is cool I wanna see more" and that'll really get me typing up a storm. When you guys don't review it just makes me think that you don't want to see any more of the story, so please REVIEW.

Second order of business, where the story is going. I don't want to give away to much in the way of spoilers so I'll keep this short. Basically where we are headed in the first series of 10 chapters is really just establishing everyone's role on the railway, introducing all the engines and giving them all some reason to be there. At the end of the first series of chapters all lot of ends will be tied up and hopefully you will all enjoy the changes that are brought about for the second series of chapters.

Third order of business, the timeline of all this. Okay so, obviously from the established cannon this wouldn't be taking place anytime in Britain's established real world history. Mostly because of the Ocean bridge, secondly because I have never seen an engine in real life that looks anything remotely like the giant Russian engine Baron will be meeting in the next chapter. Thirdly because there is no way that Britain would ever buy American tank engines in real life because they are flat out useless and wasteful. The main reason for this is because American tank engines require tenders, as they are not fitted to carry around their own coal like tank engines of other countries. Just to make sure you don't all think I am just dumping on the Americans, I am an American xD. So really what I am saying is that this series would take place in an alternate dimension of Earth rather than our own, a version of this world that is evolving slower, where diesel engines don't show up for a very long period of time. The reason for this is simple; I hate diesel engines with all my heart. They are annoying, unattractive hunks of soulless garbage.

Fourth and finally, the cast. I was thinking of possibly making a YouTube video, a very simple one mind you, depicting the engines that I used as inspiration for my cast. Whether they be models or the real life thing is completely up to chance. I know for a fact that the picture of Baron I use will be a picture of one of my Model trains I have, since I literally took Baron's description right from it. This train is in such terrible condition, and it doesn't run anymore, but hey, I was a kid and I didn't take care of it enough and I know that. I take much better care of everything now so you will also be seeing Smokey and Joan's inspirations in form of my model trains, and those 2 do run. Smokey was my very first model train, I have had him for over 15 years now, it's a miracle that he still runs, but it really shows just how well made stuff used to be. It'll probably have some music, and keep in mind that I'm not very good with making videos, so it won't be very impressive, but once it is made I will be giving you all the link to go check it out.

-Thank you all for listening to me ramble, and sorry if you expected this to be chapter 5, but hey if you want me to keep going then like I said, review this and tell me what you think.


	6. Chapter 5

**To the Rescue?**

Baron could feel the ground shaking slightly as the engine pulled up slowly, she had lowered her speed when she had seen the end of his train not moving. She grinded to a halt right beside him and he was just as surprised as the last time he'd seen her. She was enormous to say the least, matte black, and above all else, a beautiful engine. She was nearly twice his size, in length and height, he couldn't believe his eyes! Beside him sat perhaps the largest engine in the world, a 4-14-2 Russian masterpiece, on her side it read in big silver letters "Valkyrie".

"Wow, it really is you." He said astonished, she was in perfect condition, as new as the day he had seen her ten years ago.

"You remember me?" she asked, seeming surprised.

"Who could forget you? You must be the largest engine ever made!"

She felt her face get hot, she seldom got to speak to other engines, always being so busy. "You…are the same engine that passed me ten years ago right? We are the only two who works this line."

"Ya that's me…seems you have aged a lot better than I have." He laughed out.

"So it is you then? The Red Baron? The most famous engine in Europe? And the engine who fell off the Ocean Bridge?" she asked quietly not wanting to upset him.

"Please, just Baron…is that your name on your side? Valkyrie?"

"Yes, though I must tell you, I am not the largest engine in the world, I used to be though." She smiled down at him.

"What could be larger than you?"

"It's an American now, just recently finished the first one, they call him "Big Boy". He is a 4-8-8-4, I've seen a picture."

"Two sets of drive wheels?"

"Yes, two engines and one boiler, he almost looks like two engines smashed together." She giggled out, for such a large engine she sounded very childlike. "So…if I might ask, what's wrong?"

"My boiler cracked and the water spilled into my firebox, I can't move." He said with a sigh.

"If I may…why have you not been restored? Why are you in such bad condition? You were the most handsome engine I had ever seen." She said without thinking and again she felt embarrassed.

"Our section of the railway is really pressed for money…there have been a lot of disasters and break downs…we just don't have the money to fix me."

"That's awful…no engine should have to live like that…" she wondered what her driver would do about any of this. "What should we do Driver?"

"What can we do? We need to move on or risk getting caught in tonight's snow storm."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Baron said trying to sound cheerful.

"Are you sure? Will someone come to get you?" she asked nervously.

"I don't really know, the only engines who would really care if I got lost are all tank engines. Getting out here on their own wouldn't be easy, not to mention they have their own duties to perform. I'm more concerned with my train really."

"Well, I do have to go the rest of the way back to your last station. Driver, could we take the rest of his train for him?"

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with that, shouldn't take much longer than our normal trip home."

"You would do that?" baron was baffled, it wasn't as if it was a long load or anything, he just hadn't been shown kindness like this from anyone besides Joan or his driver.

"Of course" she smiled to him as a blush went over her cheeks, she didn't realize at the time, but looking back on the scenario, Val realized she couldn't have been more obvious.

Baron was uncoupled from the last of his cars and Val had gone backward to find one of the few sets of points that linked the two's tracks. She returned shortly behind his train and coupled up, pulling them back to the points. When she returned she was pushing the trucks and halted shortly beside him. "I hope someone comes for you soon, if you are still stuck here two days from now on my next run then I'll arrange to take you either back to Britain or home with me to Russia."

"Okay, thank you very much. I hope I can see you again soon, rather than have to wait for one of us to break down." He smiled up to her.

"I would like that," she giggled a bit before setting off down the line, leaving Baron alone.

"Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," he sighed loudly and decided now would be as good a time as any to get some sleep, the sun had just gone down a small while ago and it was not as if he needed to be somewhere. He promptly nodded off falling deeply into sleep.

He figured he had been dreaming for a few hours, before hearing a whistle in the distance behind him. He came out of his dreams and heard a voice far behind me, echoing through the night.

"Barooonnnnn!" he heard before another long soft whistle.

"Joan?" he was surprised to say the least, he hadn't expected anyone at all, never mind today, or it being Joan.

"Baron!" she yelled happily as her lamp lit up the back of his tender and she slowed to a stop.

"Joan, you're here," still in disbelief.

She came buffer to buffer with him and he heard her sniffling a little bit, had she been crying? "I'm so glad you're okay." She said, her voice a bit shaky.

"Yes I am okay, please don't cry, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"I'm not sad you big dummy…I'm really glad you're safe."

"Oh…" gosh, he didn't know she cared that much.

"What's wrong?"

"Cracked boiler, out of water and my fire won't start." By this point all the water left in his boiler had drained out onto the ground around him. "Do you think you can pull my home by yourself?"

"I can give it a shot, but I'm really worn out from work today, and coming all this way to find you."

"Then we should rest, the whether isn't as bad around here as it is back home. We should be able to sleep here."

"Okay, well…Goodnight I guess."

"Goodnight Joan."

End of chapter 5

Okay, so I did get one review today, and it was not only positive feedback, but it came with a question as well.

"Will we see any engines from the NWR"

The answer to that is not determined yet. Technically, the engines of Thomas the Tank Engine and all of it's stories would take place very close by to my own.

It wouldn't be too hard to incorporate Sodor railway into these stories, but they would not serve a large purpose in my story.

Maybe a cameo here and there, but none of them would become main characters.

Also you would need to consider the fact that this series isn't exactly "Goody Goody" like the new Thomas show is.

I personally hate the new show and anything after when they started using CGI instead of Model Railroading.

I have kept up with the new characters in the show however and know them all very well, so it wouldn't be hard to incorporate them in small ways.

In short, we will see, I may take it down to a vote.

But anyways, as always, please review! =]


	7. Chapter 6

**The Long Road Home**

The next morning, once both engines had woken up, Joan coupled up to Baron by his tender, and began to try and pull him back home. She slipped at first, but after a minute she finally got him rolling as she chuffed backward toward home.

"What is the controller gunna do this time? You can't work in this condition Baron…"

"Who knows…Either shut up in a different shed or…scrapped…"

"DON'T SAY THAT" Joan nearly shrieked, clearly on the verge of tears. "I won't let that happen!"

"Sorry…" was all Baron could manage to say, and they didn't speak again until they reached the Ocean Bridge.

"Baron…I'm sorry I yelled…"

"No no it's fine…I shouldn't have said that since you…feel the way you do about me."

"Do you…really think they'll scrap you?"

"Depends really… if they come up with the money then it'll be okay."

"And if they don't?"

"Then like I said, I'll be left in the shed if they want to keep me, and if they don't then I'll either be sold for parts or scrapped."

Baron's driver spoke up to them, "I'm sure they won't scrap you old boy, you have given far too much to this railway to be scrapped, somehow they will find a way to at least get you running again."

"I sure hope so."

Back at home, Joan pulls Baron into the station, where several people are gathered, having gotten word from some signalmen that Baron was spotted on his way home. Smokey, Bradley, and even Kayri are in the station waiting for them, along with the controller and some workmen.

"Yeah Joan! You really got him home!" Smokey yelled happily.

"Great work Joan," the controller boomed.

They came to a stop near the other engines. "Baron what happened?" Bradley asked.

"Cracked boiler put out my fire, I cannot hold water, so I can't run."

"We need to find the leak and patch it up, unless it's a very serious crack, in which case patching it won't do."

"Let us hope it does fix you," the controller started, "Because if it doesn't then you'll be taken off work until we can fix you."

The controller walked away and some workmen climbed aboard Joan and Baron, but before they set off Baron heard Kayri speak up.

"So you're…going to be alright then?" she said quietly.

"Yeah I'll be fine…maybe," he said angrily as Joan pulled him off toward a vacant shed for the workmen to start the job.

Two days later Baron still sits in the shed, having found out the crack led down the entire length of the bottom of his boiler. Even if they sealed the crack, the seal wouldn't hold a full tank of water. Baron was taken off work, and the several engines positions were switched around. Kayri and Joan were forced to work together to pull Baron's train, while Bradley took Kayri's. Smokey had to get up extra early every morning to get all the trains ready by himself. Things were not looking good, and after a few days, Butch and Rampent began teasing Kayri in place of Baron.

On the fifth day, Kayri approached Joan on their day off, Joan had been helping Smokey make her train for the next day to give him a small break.

"Joan can I talk to you please…"

"…I guess, Smokey I'll be right back okay?"

"Got it," he said loudly from across the yard.

Kayri led Joan away from Smokey so he wouldn't be tempted to eavesdrop on them.

"This better be good Kayri…" Joan said strongly, Kayri knew all too well that Joan had come to hate her quite a lot.

"I…want to apologize," she started.

"For what?" Joan was a bit surprised by her words.

"For making fun of you…for the way I have acted towards you and Baron…everything."

For some reason Kayri's words only fueled Joan's anger even more, "Go tell that to Baron…I don't want to hear it from you…" she said quietly, leaving Kayri alone and heading back to work.

"I will…"

End of chapter 6

Lol sorry that took longer than the others, I have been very busy lately.

Here is another answer to another question.

"Will the Fat controller ever buy the engines if you do incorporate the NWR?"

Again that's all up in the air right now, I really don't know, If I had to answer then I would say probably not, because, as I said before, I would rather not make this series become about the NWR, I would rather have it be based around my characters, not theirs.

Please Review!


	8. Public Service Announcement

Okay so obviously I haven't uploaded any chapters in quite a while and I am sorry for that everyone, regular posting will resume next week I promise. My laptop, which is the only computer in the house I can use, had a hard drive malfunction, and had to be sent in for a replacement. It took forever but finally it's back on the job and I am working on the last few chapters of book 1 of this story.

On another note I am terribly disappointed in the fact that over the past few months no one has reviewed the story at all. I may sound like a broken record but if am not motivated to write this story then it won't be written, I am perfectly happy to sit here and play Guild Wars all day but I really would like to get this story done, and I can't do that without you guys.

So please review, give me your opinions on things you like, and the things you don't like, I don't really care what you say but every little bit is helpful to me.

Chapter 7 should be out by 4/7/13 =]


	9. Chapter 7

**Apology of a Lifetime**

Later, towards nightfall of the day that Kayri had tried apologizing to Joan, she snuck out of the yard and over to the repair shed where Baron had been left, so he would not be in the way. This of coarse meant that Joan had taken his spot in the shed all to herself, not that she enjoyed that fact. Kayri came up as quiet as she could, but before she could even see Baron she heard him asking, "Joan? Is that you?"

Kayri's heart sank a little, as she wished now more than ever that she had never been so stupid. She wanted him to expect her, she wanted him to like her again.

As she came into sight Baron's mood flew south, he had been expecting a visit from Joan, not from Kayri. "Oh, it's just you…come to laugh at me I suppose."

"No," she started quietly stopping close to him, "I came to…"

"…Well?" he asked, a bit impatiently.

"Apologize…"

Baron was dumbstruck, never in his life did he think that word would come out of her mouth. The two engines stood their, silently, as looked at each other, each not sure what to say.

"…Apologize?" Baron finally was able to say.

"For everything…Every single wrong that I've done you over the past eight years. It was wrong of me to take advantage of your fame, it was wrong of me to abandon you for Butch, I don't think I have ever done something right to be honest…not a single thing since I was bought by the controller and began working here. I'm sorry…" she choked out, clearly on the verge of tears.

Baron couldn't believe what he was hearing, he wanted to be happy, he wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be, but he knew deep down it was too late for that.

"Well…thank you, I guess…I'm not going to say that what you did was okay, and I'm not sure I'll ever get over it, that is…if I even live for much longer, but it takes something to admit that you were wrong, so for that at least I commend you. But Kayri…I'm not ready to forgive you, you were awful too me for too long for me to just let you back in, maybe someday I'll get over it…but no today."

This only made Kayri's tears begin to flow, "No…you're right, don't worry about it okay," she said, her words starting to catch in her throat, "I messed up and I need to pay for it, I wouldn't expect anything less then you never forgiving me…I'm lucky you're even listening to me."

"I'm glad I at least got to hear you apologize before I was scrapped."

"Ugh, would you stop talking like that…the controller would never scrap you…how could he, you built this place, this is your line Baron…we wouldn't be anywhere without you…" she said as she let out a small smile and backed away, leaving Baron alone with his thoughts.

Baron once again felt himself astounded, was this all just a joke? I mean to here Kayri speaking that way to him, he had never dreamed about it. How was he supposed to feel about her? Once upon a time he had real feelings for her, he however at the time didn't know the feelings she returned were fake. But clearly now she realized how wrong she had been. "It doesn't matter in the end…I give first chances before second chances…Joan is all that matters to me now…you're too late Kayri." he said before settling down and trying to head off to sleep.

That night Kayri returned to the shed to find that the boys were still out running specials, but that Joan had finished her work helping Smokey, and had returned to the shed. Joan was half-in and half-out of Baron's cell, watching the sun go down. When she looked up to see if one of the boys had gotten back, incase she needed to retreat inside the shed, she instead found Kayri, whom she could tell straight away had been crying.

"You…you actually did it?"

Kayri looked over, as she backed into her cell in the shed, just before she fully in, she managed to whisper out a small, "Yes." She finished backing into the shed and her driver and fireman got out quickly and shut the doors to her cell, both well aware she wanted to be alone.

"Kayri…" Joan said worryingly, 'is she crying in there?' Joan asked herself. 'What happened…why do I care all of a sudden? I hate Kayri…still…

Joan quickly came too from her small trance as she heard the unmistakable noise of Rampant yelling at his driver to get the turntable going, and before she even had to ask her fire was stoked and she backed into the shed the rest of the way, the doors shut before she even had to see that horrible blue moron. Then she had a thought, as if out of no where she began to think of all the engines that were in their yard. "Baron is actually the more liked engine…Smokey, Bradley, Me…and now Kayri is back on his side…it's just Rampant and Butch…why is that? Why is it that somehow…Butch just isn't beaten…what's missing here…?"

End of chapter 7

Well, that didn't take too long I hope

I'm happy to say that I got another review, which is what made me want to type this up earlier than when I had said it would be done.

A girl(I assume seeing as there are more girls named that then dudes) named Jalyn seems to be my only consistent reviewer.

She always has a valid question to ask and whenever I ask for a review she gives me one, and I would like to tell her that it really helps =]

Special shout out to you Jalyn ^^


	10. Chapter 8

**Friends…ish**

The next morning, Joan and Kayri's fire were lit extra early so they could creep out of the yard before the other engines could wake up. It took a while for their fires to light, as the days were getting colder and colder in the tail end of Autumn. Smokey had just finished lining up their train at the station when they arrived, and was surprised to see them this early. Even more surprising was that they weren't arguing as they usually were. He shrugged it off and headed back to fetch the rest of the trains before being able to head to sleep. His work days had gotten far harder as of late since his partner, Bradley, had been moved to the position Kayri had been at before, taking local passenger trains. The controller had tried letting Bradley and Joan take Baron's train but they were too small and couldn't move the massive load, so he had to have Kayri help Joan instead. They had taken the train a few times together already and had argued and yelled at each other all the way there and all the way back. But after seeing Kayri in the shape she was last night, Joan decided that she wouldn't argue unless Kayri started it this morning.

"You guys are early," Smokey started trying to tread lightly, "I barely had time to finish your train," he finished as he reversed toward the yard, "I have to move the coaches in batches since I can't move that train all at once."

"Thanks Smokey," Joan heard Kayri say and she was shocked, and watched as Kayri backed down on the train.

"Did you just…" Joan said quietly before shaking it off and backing down on Kayri, as Joan led the train with Kayri right behind her.

"Am I not supposed to thank him? Isn't that something that I should do?" Kayri asked, genuinely curious.

"I suppose it is…" Joan said answering her question seeing as Kayri seemed to be serious.

The two waited for their conductor's whistle and steamed out of the station, and they didn't speak to each other until they had come to the Ocean Bridge.

"Joan"

"Hmm?"

"Do you…love him?"

Joan didn't answer, at least not for a few minutes.

"Why do you care…"

"You may find this hard to believe, but I'm changing…I get it now, I know what I did wrong and I know I'm paying for it…that doesn't mean I don't know how you feel."

"You loved his fame not him Kayri."

"There was a time when I really did love him, but the fame was so appealing, that when I stopped loving him I simply pretended that I still did…and who's to say I don't love him now?"

"You better no-"

"Don't worry," Kayri interrupted, "He loves you, not me, he chooses you, and I'm not going to do anything to try and change his mind."

"…Really? Why wouldn't you?"

"Because…if at all possible, I'd like to be…friends Joan."

"Friends? With you? After all you've put us through? What did Baron say?"

"He doesn't forgive me, but he seems to no longer wish me to die, so that's a start."

"…We'll see I suppose, keep being nice and we will see where it gets you."

"Thanks, it means more than you know."

The two continued on their journey through the daytime, dropping their cars where they belong and moving to the next station. About halfway there Joan speaks up again.

"Does it seem like we are going slower than last time?"

"…Uhm…no, not really." Kayri answered nervously lying.

"Must be my imagination, I can't believe Baron's been running this route for so long and I've never once heard him complain about it."

"Ya, he's a tough guy, he just rolls with whatever the world can throw at him." she said and then sighed to herself in relief. 'Common Kay pick up the pace,' she thought to herself. Kayri had been hiding a secret for a few weeks now, and she didn't want Joan, or anyone for that matter, to find out about it.

Her last trip to the works hadn't been as successful as she had led on. She may be well taken care off but she's an old engine nonetheless, and she didn't feel well at all. Something, she couldn't tell what, was wrong with her insides, she had found herself going slower and slower each time she runs, especially on these long runs with Joan.

She had intended to tell the controller about it, but at first she thought it was just her imagination, so she tried to ignore it. She was going to tell the controller, but then Baron had his accident, and Butch had ditched her when she started helping Joan. Now that Kayri was back on Baron's side she found it impossible to tell the controller about her problem. If she told him then she would just be being selfish. Baron needed to be fixed more, if she told the controller about her problem then they would more than likely fix her before they fixed him, so she had decided to keep her mouth shut.

When they finally reached the last station, something was waiting for them at the station, though neither of them knew exactly what it was.

On the other line, waited an enormous black Russian engine coupled up to a short line of flatbed cars with grey coverings over the items which it carried. They stopped at the station and both girls felt their wheels wobble a bit in fear of the massive female engine beside them. But then Joan looked to the name on the side of the engine and her mood lightened.

"Val!" the little engine almost squeaked up at her.

"Hm? You know me?"

"Baron has told me all about you, you're the other engine that runs this line from the other side…but why aren't you taking your usual train?"

"You know Baron? I have two replacement engines taking my train today, I'm on my way to your yard actually. Could you take me there?"

"Really? Why would you be going there?" Kayri asked.

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise," the she said with a bright smile on her face.

"Well I guess we could show you the way, does anyone know you are coming?" Joan answered.

"No one at all, just trust me okay you're going to wanna see what I'm hauling."

So after Kayri and Joan had turned around, the two of them ran in front of Val's train guiding her back, the whole way the girls were telling Val how Joan knew her, and how both of them were associated with Baron, and explaining what had been going on with their yard as of late. Val seemed a bit fumed with Kayri's past, but she decided it was better to not make enemies with her, and she seemed more than understanding about Butch and Rampant. She explained later that it was almost the same way in her shed, except no one would dare tease Valkyrie, thanks to her size all the other engines were a bit afraid of her.

The End

Hey guys what's shakin? So there are only two more chapters before the "Season" ends. I guess all that I really have to say at this point is that I'm kinda sorry that some of my chapters are a lot shorter than others are. It's really just because I don't want to overstep the plot since I need to space it out as much as possible. Not only that but I was like 14 when I wrote these original scripts, so I had just started writing stories and wasn't exactly amazing at writing yet xD. Once again please review ^^


	11. Chapter 9

**Val's Surprise**

"What am I to do about this…" the Controller pondered sitting in his office at the station. "Baron quite literally helped build these lines, stations and even helped work on the very bridge which put him where he is today. It would just be inhuman to scrap him, but sitting out in the elements all day for the rest of time won't do him any good either. Perhaps I should sell him to a museum, they would surely fix him up and put him on display considering his history. But would he be happy about it…"

As he finished his thoughts he heard several whistles blow and looked from his window, to see Kayri, Joan and a massive Russian engine come to a halt in the station. He rose from his chair and headed down to the station platform to see what the commotion was.

"Joan, Kayri, what is going on? Who is this?"

"This is Val, one of Baron's friends and she says she has a surprise for us all." Joan answered.

"She wouldn't tell us what it is until we were all here." Kayri finished.

"Sorry to barge in on your home Sir," Val began, "But you will want to see what is on my train, could you please direct us to where Baron is?"

"I don't see why not?" He answered, trying to figure it out what Val was hauling.

The controller climbed into Joan's cab and the three engines went over to the old works shed were Baron was being kept. When he saw all three of them coming he became a bit exited.

"Val? What are you doing way out here?"

"I have got a surprise for you, for all of you I should say." She said as her driver got out of her cab and began uncovering the first truck in her train.

"Really? What is it?" he asked as everyone's attention turned to her driver.

"Well Baron, as an act of good will from one railway to another, our steelworks combined with several other companies based around our railway have decided to give you a gift old boy," he said as he removed the sheet fully from the first truck.

Baron couldn't believe his eyes, for there in front of him was a replacement Faceplate and Smoke Deflectors. "Val…how did you."

"I was able to convince my controller that building a better relationship with your railway could be great for business, seeing as you and I are the only ones able to run our routes without any help. So when he realized how efficient we really were he decided that we would get you fixed up for the benefit of everybody. All of these card are filled to the brim with brand new parts, we're going to make you just like new."

"Really?!" Joan asked extremely exited.

"That's fantastic," Kayri blinked several times in disbelief.

"Are you really sure that you guys can afford to blow all this money on me?" Baron asked again trying his best to be polite, on the inside of coarse he was more happy than he had ever been in his life.

"If we weren't sure then the parts wouldn't be here now would they?" Val smirked.

"Thank you Valkyrie, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for this kindness."

"Hah…I just wanted my partner back…we may never see each other but, something about the line feels different without you on it." She said shyly, a very hard thing to do for such an intimidating engine.

Soon after Baron was pushed into the shed and the trucks were set up around him in the shed and as they emptied they would be put back outside. Workmen set out straight away in order to get Baron fixed as soon as possible.

For the few days that the fixing would take, Val was invited to stay at the shed if she wished to, and she happily agreed, wishing to get to know her 'competition' better. Of coarse this referred to Joan and Kayri, as she had figured that both girls loved Baron very much, and Val had long since realized she had quite the crush on him as well.

When Val first puffed into the yard Rampant and Butch had nearly lost their minds. Both engines were afraid of her right away, and Val only sought to further that fear, as she had learned all about the two miscreants. She yelled at the two engines for a great many things, but chief among them was the way they treated Baron. She had even threatened to run them off the rails if they ever spoke to him again.

Even the controller found it funny, as this massive engine had managed to get the two most misbehaved engines he had ever seen, to behave in just a matter of minutes. Joan and Kayri were a bit afraid, but were deeply impressed at the same time. This girl didn't accept any funny business and they liked that about her.

The first night the controller even went so far as to order Rampant and Butch out of the shed. The reason for this was that Smokey and Bradley's shed was undergoing a few structural fixes, and that night there would be a minor wind storm. This storm was reported to be not very big, but the controller decided it would be in good fun to have Butch and Rampant sleep in the yard while Smokey and Bradley slept in the shed with the other engines. So for the first of many nights, Smokey and Bradley shared Butch's cell, Joan used Baron'. Kayri used her own and Val used Rampant's.

The two little tank engines had never seen an engine so big as Val before, and for hours they set about questioning her about all sorts of things.

"What's is like in Russia?"

"Just how big are you?"

"Are you the biggest engine in the world?" and many more questions followed.

Eventually Joan and Kayri were able to get the two little engines to be quiet and give the poor girl a break from the battering of questions.

After a while everyone went to sleep, all with smiles on their faces, for multiple reasons. Kayri had never felt so good, mentally anyway, she felt as though her conscious was finally clear. Joan was happily dreaming of seeing Baron in all of his former glory. Val was happy to getting her work partner back, and that she was accepted into Baron's circle of real friends. The two little tank engines, especially Smokey, were happy that Butch and Rampant were being taught a lesson, and that Smokey was back in the shed, atleast for a few nights.

End of Chapter 9

OKAY! Lol jeez this is getting hard to do, I keep waiting until the last second to type these things up and I'm sorry about that.

Review answering time!

Okay so I got 2 reviews this past week which made me feel the need to respond to them, I am happy to say that the reviews seem to be coming in more frequently as of late and I thank you all for that.

Question 1: What kind of engine is Kayri? I don't recall reading anything about her in the earlier chapters.

This is a good question because honestly I don't remember ever writing anything about what kind of engine she was, I may have done but I just don't remember.

Kayri is a brown/deep gold 4-4-2 tender engine.

If you guys wanna see all the engines I based everyone off of then tell me and I'll find a way to give you all pictures of everybody before I upload chapter 10.

Onward to the second review.

It was helpful and also a bit…not quite annoying but something along those lines.

It stated that I shouldn't threaten to take away the series if I don't get reviews.

Now for my response.

That was not a threat really. A threat entails all of you HAVING to do something for me in order for me to do something for you.

All I said is that if I don't get enough reviews I won't be continuing the series. It's not because I want attention or anything, it's because quite frankly I have a lot of other stuff I could be doing right now then writing these chapters. I would be perfectly happy to go play guild wars or pokemon or minecraft or halo or really anything else.

The thing you need to understand about me is this, I really love to handwrite and I REALLY hate typing. Typing is annoying and difficult for me, so I'm not happy doing it. And typically, if I am not happy doing something, then I am going to stop doing that thing and go do something else which does make me happy. See what I mean? if I am not motivated to write this then I'm just not going to write it, not a threat, just a matter of whether I want to do it or not.

Until next time, please review.

ADD IN

Forgot to answer another question, someone asked how the engines see and talk to each other without faces then said something about the terminator.

It's not that complicated lol, they don't have faces, they are just normal looking engines.

They talk to each other and to people just by talking. It's nothing fancy and theres nothing to figure out, they just talk and they just see and they just smell and they just hear. Theres no science behind it, nothing moves when they talk, no mouth no nothing, you just hear them.

Ya know how in one episode of Thomas the tank engine from way back when, that one episode that had the famous visitor? I can't remember the real name of the engine but he was the one that had gone 100 mph first?

It's like that, he told the engines stories and he could hear and speak, but her didn't have a face like the rest of them. It's like that ^.^


	12. Chapter 10

**British Railway's Red Baron**

A few days later, all the girls, including Val, were crowded around the works shed, as Baron's repairs were scheduled to be completed in just a little while. They were so exited to see what he would look like, but the only one that really showed it was Joan. Of the three of them, she was the only one who had never seen how Baron used to look in person. Soon, the two little shunters showed up as well, since today everyone had been given the day off. Butch and Rampant were still sulking in the shed, trying to think of anyway things could go back to how they used to be, but neither could seem to think of anything.

A workman came out to see them all for a moment, "Not long now," he shouted to the group. This information nearly made Joan jump off the rails in excitement, she couldn't contain her excitement like the others could. She was much younger, a child compared to the rest of them, and much more full of energy.

"Joan calm down," Smokey finally laughed out.

"I can't!" Joan yelled happily.

"Oh common let her be, she's the only one who has never seen him like this before," Val giggled a little at her own words, finding it hard to not act as excited as the little engine.

"I only saw him once when I first came here," Bradley started, "When I was introduced to the group for the first time."

"I used to see him a lot, but when he came into the yard when Joan first arrived, it was like he had never seen us before," Smokey said.

"I would chalk that up to how old he is, and his poor condition. He hadn't seen us in quite a while by that point," Bradley put in.

"Well that's true, you're probably right."

"Well he always seemed to recognize me," Val said without really thinking about it.

"Who could forget you?" Kayri laughed a little and everyone agreed with her. They were also very surprised to hear Kayri laugh. She had only ever laughed AT them before, and that was a harsh laugh. For the first time she had laughed WITH them, and it sounded different, it was a nice, soft laugh. Even Kayri herself was surprised, she hadn't laughed like that since she had first met Baron. Suddenly she spoke again in the silence off the group.

"Hey…guys."

Everyone looked to her wondering what it was she was about to say.

"I know that you all haven't fully forgiven me yet but…thank you for giving me a chance again. It means a lot."

Everyone was silent for a minute, no one really knew what to say. No one had ever really talked to Kayri before, so no one knew how to respond.

"You're welcome Kayri," Joan finally managed to say. At the very least Kayri's actions had gotten Joan to calm down a bit.

Then they all heard a creaking noise and looked back to the shed. The large doors were opening slowly, followed by the large group of workmen which had been working on Baron. Then to their surprise, the controller walked out as well, he had apparently been over seeing the repairs, and wanted to announce Baron's completion.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!," he began, grabbing the attention of the engines. "It is my absolute pleasure to give to you, the one, the only!" as he said this steam whooshed out of the shed and up into the air, followed by the sounds of wheels turning. "The Red Baron!"

With this, in a cloud of steam, Baron began to come out the shed. As the steam cleared, bit by bit, they could all see his new body, his new paint shinning in the sunlight. He had been rebuilt slightly different than he used to look, but very nearly the same. The front of his boiler was black as with most engines, his smoke deflectors were black to match. His paint was Red with a wonderful set of Gold stripes. All of his missing parts had been replaced, he looked like a brand new engine fresh from the shop! All the engines began to whistle loudly in celebration, Butch and Rampant could hear it in the yard and it annoyed them to no end.

After a few moments the whistling came to an end and Baron let out one of his own. It sounded louder and healthier than ever before.

"You look fantastic!" Joan yelled once his whistle was off.

"Better than ever," Val smiled

"As beautiful as the day I met you," Kayri added in.

"The cameras wont be able to look away from you Baron," the other two tank engines said together.

That night, after Val had left, everyone took their rightful places in their own shed. Butch had been locked up inside his cell at his own request. He had want nor need to see Baron all fixed up, and had decided that going to sleep before he came into the yard would be in his best interest. Kayri said goodnight to Joan and Baron, and went happily into her cell. Joan and Baron then, for the first time in weeks, squeezed together into baron's cell. This had been maybe the best day in Joan's life, and it just kept getting better as the night went on. Not only did she outright confess to Baron, but she was delighted to hear that he felt the same way about her.

"Baron," she said after a while of silence.

"Yes?"

"You know I'm not the only one who feels this way about you…right?"

"Don't worry Joan, I'm all yours." He said with a soft smile.

Joan thought he was the most beautiful engine ever made, everything about him seemed perfect.

Not a week later they both found out that quite a lot more people thought The Red Baron was the most beautiful engine in the world, but that's another story.

End of Book one.

WOO. Lol okay so I have to say I'm not entirely in love with this chapter, I feel like it could have been written better but I just don't know how to write any better than this. On the other hand I am glad it is done so that I can get on to what might be my favorite book of this story.

Book two shows quite a lot of changes to the railway and not only that but a few new characters, some stay some do not.

It also shows the events of the Worldwide Steam Locomotive Showcase. This is an event which I have made up, which invites the oldest and most impressive, still running, steam engines in the world, to a gathering. Basically they are all parked in an immense round house which is located in northern Russia, and it lasts for a few weeks. People come from allover the world to admire these engines, and I bet if you think about it you can guess some of the engines from the first book who will meriting an invitation. So guess who will be playing a bigger role in the next book! That's right, Val will be playing a much bigger role in the next 10 chapters. So if you like Val's character then this should be a good chapter for you. Kayri also play a big part, and Joan is sort of shuffled into the back round for this book.

The first chapter for book 2 should be out within 2 weeks from now, so that I can have a little break to make sure I have all the chapters in my multiple notebooks of different stories.

Please Review ^^


	13. PSA

PSA #1

Hey guys, so for those of you who haven't ever read my stories before this new story this may seem odd to you but I'm willing to bet my returning readers will know what this post will entail.

This will be a Public Service Announcement for just about all of my readers to know what I going on and what is coming up soon and what isn't. In my PSA's I like to type in a laid back manner so please don't get on me for grammar and misspellings. First off, let's get to Skarloey Kail.

Right so, good news and bad news, the bad news being that I will not be posting a new chapter tomorrow night, October the eleventh, or next Friday, October the eighteenth. My reason for this is because last week's episode of Legend of Korra was god awful for someone like me who needs to essentially rewrite it with a new character involved. Next to nothing happened in it, it boiled down to eighteen minutes of snoozing and two minutes of Mako and Korra drama followed by Korra doing something incredibly dumb and then it was over leaving on a cliffhanger. I have tried already to write a chapter for Skarloey Kail about it but no matter what I do it comes up too short and it just isn't worth your time to read because it is too short and nothing important happens. The reason I will not be posting next week is because I will be on a family vacation and will simply not have the time to write and type up a chapter.

Now for the good news. Sunday, October the twentieth, I will be posting a conjoined chapter of last week's episode and tomorrow night's episode. Then on top of that, on Friday, October the twenty-fifth, I will resume my normal posting habits, but will also write a special, in-between chapter or side chapter for Skarloey Kail, perhaps a clipping from his past or a sort-of romance episode between him and Asami, in fact let's change that. We will have a vote, in the review or comments or whatever you can say whether you would wanna see a romance chapter or a chapter of Skarloey's past to be the special chapter, one with the most votes wins. And Hell, if both of them get a ton of votes I will do them both, and post them one week after the other, one with the most votes gets posted the first week and the second the week after.

Now, second order of business, Sheppard Hill University and Red Baron. I don't know if any of you are readers of those two series but I am considering them both over at this point. I have no drive to write them and no one reviews them saying they would like to see more of each of them, so I figure you just don't want anymore of them. Plenty of people still come back and re-read both of them time and time again but as most of you know I am very review driven, if someone tells me they like what I do I am more driven to write it, and no one has done that for Red Baron in a very long time, and no one has ever reviewed S.H.U even once, so I figure you all must not like it.

Anyway ladies and gents that should be about it, sorry for the disappointment on Skarloey Kail this week but I hope what I have just written will keep you guys happy weeks while I am gone. ^^


	14. Update

Update

Okay guys I know that you have been waiting for the next chapter of Skarloey Kail for a few months now and hre is the reason. My computer has always been really iffy when it comes to Microsoft Word and it has always been a huge pain to use, especially since we can't afford the newer additions of it. My family still uses Microsoft Word from Windows 95 because we can't waste the money on the newer stuff, but recently my program simply stopped working. We even uninstalled it and reinstalled it but it still wouldn't function correctly.

My friend just gave me a download for a new program and it works fantastic and looks exactly like Windows 95 so it's very easy to get used to for me, so I should be able to continue my stories now. So here are the different updates for each story.

Skarloey Kail: Okay to be honest with you I don't enjoy writing this series anymore but I shall persevere and finish it off, which should take around 2 or 3 chapters. I haven't been able to type them up however so it'll be around 2 weeks before you see the next chapter come out.

SHU: This series is over and will not be continued.

Red Baron: I do plan to continue this, since the chapters are always short and sweet and to the point it shouldn't be anymore than a month before the second series stars getting posted.

RWBY OC: I have fallen in love with this show and have been following it since the premiere of the very first trailer, and I have wanted to start a Fanfic of it for a long time now. It will not be centered around team RWBY but they will be very big key players. It'll be a romance/action/...tragedy I guess is the only word? If you are interested in RWBY fanfics then I would love to have you check it out, First chapter should be up by New Years, and the prologue may even be up shortly after this message is posted since it will be short.

Project Ghost: This will also be a new series that I will be starting shortly after Skarloey Kail is finished off, and maybe after the second series of Red Baron is finished. It will be a Halo OC which will follow the string of logic set by Rooster Teeth's Red Vs. Blue season's 9 and 10, following the events of Project Freelancer. I'm not saying it will be the same writing style because it definitely won't be, this will be a much more serious writing style, and best of all, I ill not be breaking any established Halo universe cannon, so basically it will be written as if this could really be happening in Halo without anyone knowing about it.

Gear Spark: Okay so here is where things get a bit...hard to make promises for. Ever since I was in my freshman year of high school I have been mapping out my own story, completely my own and not a fanfiction in anyway. Problem is, I don't know where else to post this story, because as far as I know, there isn't a website like Fanfiction for Original Content. If you know one then please tell me because I feel the story would be better suited there rather than here. To be vague, it is a Sci-fi/Fantasy/Romance/everything story, if that helps.


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